Speaking of loyalty, many industries may immediately come to mind, but what about healthcare? Loyalty in healthcare has been discussed for some time, but the reality is that the implementation of patient loyalty is still in the conceptual and discussion stage. Given that it provides great opportunities for those who are committed to better serving patients, it is time to turn patient loyalty into the mainstream of the entire healthcare industry.
For example: According to data from NRC Health, more than one-third of consumers are indifferent to health system brands. In fact, this statistic has risen from 31% in 2018 to 36% in 2021. In addition, according to Accenture’s 2020 Covid-19 Consumer Health Experience Survey, data “shows that medical systems that continue to evolve to meet the needs of new consumer experience can accelerate financial recovery and attract patients from competitors, possibly within 12 months Increase their income by 5% to 10% of the previous Covid level.” This is an additional annual income of hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the past year, we have seen dramatic changes in consumer behavior as Covid-19 has accelerated the demand for new patient experiences and consumer perceptions of healthcare. People are educated and smart in health, they look around for suppliers and read reviews to make sure they make the best choice. They know they have a choice if it means that the provider system will better meet their long-term needs and are looking for things that are important to them, including simplified experience, cost transparency, digital connection experience, convenience, and of course , Their private data will remain safe.
In addition, delayed care has caused many healthcare consumers to disengage from contact, but this does not mean that their condition, no matter how large or small, has disappeared. How can you make them feel comfortable to re-engage in their health?
The answer lies in loyalty. Creating an effective loyalty strategy can meet the needs of consumers while creating a personalized experience, which will help establish a deeper relationship between the patient, the healthcare system, and the provider, and continue in the patient’s continuous care Go down.For organizations that may be hesitant to explore loyalty strategies, it is important to remember that there is a clear difference between loyalty and loyalty Program And loyal strategyThe loyalty program focuses on repeating business and inspiring your best customers, who may buy or use your services on a regular or frequent basis. In most healthcare fields, since the desired result is a healthy population, it is not recommended to create a program that rewards based on frequency of use or participation with your system. Instead, by creating a loyalty strategy that focuses on using data to understand your patients on an individual basis and create personalized experiences based on these needs, you can build positive lifelong relationships with patients, allowing your organization to provide patient-centricity Participate in and create relevant and personalized experiences.
If done correctly, the loyalty strategy is very effective and beneficial for both healthcare organizations and patients, but it will not happen overnight. It takes time and attention. So, what can you do to provide meaningful participation so that your patients or customers feel understood, appreciated, and liked their relationship with your organization or brand? Here are some examples and thought enlighteners that illustrate how the four key parts of healthcare-Integrated Delivery Network (IDN), payer, medical technology, and pharmaceutical company-can develop a loyalty strategy and build more meaningful relationships with customers:
Internationalized Domain Name
Some health systems are leading the way in patient loyalty and have demonstrated the clear value of implementing a loyalty strategy. For example, Kaiser Permanente is the largest IDN in the United States. It is a brand with a long history of progressive policies. It has won the first place in patient satisfaction and has been among the best in the NICE Satmetrix US consumer NPS benchmark test for nine consecutive years. In addition, this California-based non-profit organization is also a payer and has been ranked first for the fourth consecutive year in Forrester’s 2019 insurance provider rankings. This is largely due to its health plan, which provides each member and insured spouse with a reward card or statement credit of $500 each year-or $1,000 per household-for five health activities, including biological Identify and preventive health checks. When patients are loyal to a system, the result is intensive care, which prevents interrupted interventions and multiple misplaced health records. In addition, from 2018 to 2019, Kaiser’s revenue tripled to US$7.4 billion, mainly due to investment and reinvestment in providing members with high-quality, affordable healthcare and improving the health of the community Promise of.
Payer
Payers have a good opportunity to implement a health and prevention-oriented loyalty platform. When the patient acts actively rather than passively, troublesome situations will be discovered earlier, promoting early intervention, reducing the patient’s difficulties and reducing the payer’s investment. This is a win-win situation: the patient’s health is better, and the payer pays fewer claims, thereby controlling costs; when people stay healthy, the overall cost decreases. In addition, for payers/providers (such as Kaiser Permanente), or those who have a payer-provider partnership, they are in the best position to provide loyalty programs, own patient data, centralize care, and provide care and reimbursement .
Pharmaceutical company
Pharmaceutical companies will benefit greatly from participating in the program, especially from loyal patients who adhere to their treatment regimens. According to the author of the book “Prescription Drug Related Costs,” the estimated annual cost of prescription drug-related morbidity and mortality caused by non-optimized drug treatments in 2016 was US$528.4 billion, of which the low-end was US$495.3 billion and the high-end was US$672.7 billion. . Morbidity and Mortality” (March 26, 2018). They also estimate that unoptimized drug treatments cause approximately 275,689 deaths each year. This has a huge impact and provides companies that solve drug problems with more Trust. In addition, pharmacies that work with payers can help drive better health outcomes and manage compliance. The pharmaceutical payer strategic partnership will bring the most positive results for patients and both organizations.
medical technology
Medical technology companies usually provide services for other businesses. As decision-making shifts from doctor preference to value analysis committee model, medical device manufacturers are challenged by this new sales restriction. Medical technology companies have traditionally adopted a business-to-business strategy, but organizations can attract consumers and drive consumer pull by creating communities around the disease states served by their devices. For example, the Danish medical device company Coloplast has a strong nursing community, providing support groups, educational opportunities, and more. Active outreach to patients demonstrates a commitment to improving lives. In addition, manufacturers may create a loyalty platform to provide distributors with valuable rewards (such as value bundling or solution sales), just as car manufacturers do for car dealers. Or, the organization may wish to establish a strategic partnership with IDN to inject value into the entire customer experience. Options may include sharing data insights, VIP retention products, or continuing education that is recognized by clinicians.
The opportunities and benefits of developing smart loyalty strategies for all sectors of the healthcare sector, and more importantly, for their patients, are huge. Not only does it have the potential to increase the income of healthcare organizations, but more importantly, it can improve patient care.
Photo: Mykyta Dolmatov, Getty Images
